Somewhere between Toronto and Montreal. Really pretty, wide open spaces up there.

So I’m on the road for the first leg of the US Tycho tour and it’s been pretty intense; haven’t had a chance to post here in a while. Jakub is along tour managing and things have been going well. We’ve seen a lot of really beautiful landscapes along the way; so far we’ve driven from Chicago, up through Toronto and Montreal, and all the way from Buffalo down to Orlando where I’m currently holed up in a Travelodge taking a much needed night off from playing. We play Orlando tomorrow night, then on to Tampa and Miami, and then back north for a string of dates ending in Brooklyn. Beacon is along doing support, definitely check them out, really beautiful stuff.

Jakub took this one somewhere outside of Pontiac, MI

I can’t explain what a moving experience it has been to get out and meet so many people and share the work with them. I spent the last year locked in my basement working on the album so it’s been really refreshing to be out here performing it for people. I want to sincerely thank all of you who made it out so far and to all of you who have supported this project in other ways; it means the world to me and I feel fortunate every day to be able to work as an artist.

Gratuitous tour shot including the band, Jakub, and Brian Wenner who is our stage manager

I’ve been dreaming of having a proper visuals rig for a while now — we had been renting equipment — but this time out we finally have our own setup consisting of a 5K Lumen Christie LX45 projector, and Da-Lite Fast-Fold 16:9 screen, and a brand new custom rigging system (pictured below). It’s a great feeling to know that wherever we play, the show will be consistently presented. Thanks to everyone who helped out in Montreal getting this thing built, and to Darren from Home Depot in Watertown, NY for helping build the mounting plate.

Speaking of visuals, I’ve been getting a lot of work done on the new stuff. I’ve been working with Charles Bergquist on a new visuals set and things have been going great. Charles has been shooting beautiful HD footage and I have been arranging / effecting it using VDMX. It’s still a work in progress but we have been showing some previews here and there during the live show. I’m hoping to get that all wrapped up during our post Europe tour break.

As for upcoming stuff, we have a lot planned for the year: Europe, a full US tour, along with some festivals and no less than seven SXSW showcases. Hope to see you out there!

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The Tycho band hits the road with their A/V performance, check the dates, we hope to see you, we’ll definitely have stock of the Dive vinyl, some classic posters back in stock, and a new Tycho shirt which i’m in love with.

If you didn’t already know, we’re on the road for the Tycho / Little Dragon tour this month. Jakub is along for the ride as tour manager so posts are going to be a little slow for the next week or so. I’ll do my best to post a couple updates when I get the chance. You can follow along on Instagram (@ISO50) or Twitter (@ISO50) for more frequent updates.

Side note: this is my first time posting to the blog from a phone. Tried using the official WordPress app this morning only to have two complete drafts deleted for no apparent reason. Got the Blogpress app now so we’ll see if this one makes it.

Driving from Boston to Philadelphia now for tonight’s show with Little Dragon and Questlove at Union Transfer. should be a good night, hope to see some of you out. Jakub and I will be lurking around the merch booth (where you can score the Tycho Dive CD early along with the new Tycho shirts) so come by and say hello.

Ever since I first saw The Thing I’ve had a fascination with Antarctica. Something about the brutal conditions, heavy machinery and isolation seem like the ultimate setting for discovery. These photos come from the flickr of John Jacobsen who photographed them while “helping to hunt for neutrinos in Antarctica.” I love the idea that these images could be “just another day at the office” for somebody; even the names for everything sound badass: Dark Sector Lab, Destination Alpha, Autonomous Geophysical Observatory, etc.

Scott’s trip to Graz for the recent Springfestival inspired me to take a walk through my hometown of San Mateo to see what visual inspiration I could find. One thing that’s always fascinated me is the beautiful mural decorating the front of the local Bank of America.

Consisting of 5 panels, 25′ high and approximately 90′ across, the mural was designed by Louis Macouillard and set by Alphonso Pardinas in glass tile. The panels tell the story of A. P. Giannini, the founder of the Bank of Italy (what would later become the Bank of America) who moved the bank’s records and cash to San Mateo after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

These pictures don’t really do it justice, so for the two of you who happen to pass through San Mateo it’s worth checking out. Anyone else have any cool hometown design gems to share?

This series is taken from a larger body of work in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea.

Although not commonly thought of as a holiday destination all these photographs have been taken at tourist sites throughout the city.

It took over a year to get permission to go in with my camera and nothing quite prepares you for what awaits. I was not allowed to take my mobile phone past customs and was met by two guides who were to accompany me at all times throughout my trip.

It’s a fascinating glimpse into a place unknown to much of the world, and the series makes for an interesting counterpart to the previous post on North Korean propaganda posters.